Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Nokia’s Android phone UI revealed in leaked photo

Nokia has been building its own Android phone, codenamed Normandy, and the first examples of its user interface are now starting to emerge. Evleaks has posted an image of Nokia’s custom Android implementation, with three examples of how the smartphone maker has tweaked the UI. A Skype app can be seen running on one device, and a phone dialer and lockscreen with notification center are shown on the other devices.
The UI appears to be a mix of Asha and Windows Phone elements, with hardware support for dual-SIM. It’s not yet known whether Nokia’s Android device will ever be released. While the company has been testing it as a low-end option in its device range, Microsoft’s Nokia acquisition leaves the project in limbo. The Verge previously reported that Nokia’s “Normandy” device uses a special forked variant of Android that’s not aligned with Google’s own version. Microsoft is expected to close its Nokia deal in the coming months, at which time we’ll likely learn Normandy’s fate.